A Case for the CSA Farm Box

Golden beets

If you follow me on the ‘gram, you know that I often have love affairs in the form of photo sessions with my produce. I realized that I’ve never actually discussed my choice to have a CSA farm box of organic produce delivered to my apartment every week. I thought it might be worth sharing.

You’ll eat more veggies: This reason is pretty straightforward. If there are more veggies around, it increases the likelihood that you’ll consume them. I really hate for food to go to waste, especially when I’ve been my hard-earned grad students dollars on it. So I’m really good about making sure my veggies get eaten (or frozen!) before they go bad.

The quality is superior: If you’ve ever gotten fresh produce from the farmer’s market, you know that they are much higher quality than their supermarket counterparts. You don’t need a super refined pallet to taste the difference. High quality veggies go such a long way in the kitchen, allowing the flavors in even the simplest of dishes to pop.

You’re supporting local farmers: From what I understand, small scale farming is often a thankless job in a country whose food system has become so industrialized. The best way to support them is by buying all of their yummy stuff.

Fresh herbs

You’ll Eat Seasonally: Eating seasonally is a great way to build a connection between your body and the earth and its natural cycles. After taking a short course on ayurveda last year, I’ve been more conscious of trying to eat in ways that promote synchronicity and balance with the environment. Eating from my CSA farm box makes it easy!

It’s cost effective: I have not yet been convinced that buying local produce is cheaper than buying commercial produce in supermarkets. Many blogs make this claim and I just don’t think it’s true. What is true, however, is that, when compared to shopping at the farmer’s market, CSA boxes tend to give you more bang for your buck. Furthermore, if your CSA allows you to customize your box online (as many do), you can strategically select veggies that are more affordable to save money.

It’s convenient: In an ideal world, we would all wake up every Sunday morning, do some yoga, and walk over to the local farmer’s market to purchase our veggies for the week. In real life, we’re often lucky if we can even find time to run to the grocery store in between all of the other tasks on our to-do lists. When trying to eat well, having your veggies dropped off on your doorstep can make the difference between a week of warm home-cooked meals or crappy (and expensive) take-out.

If you’re considering joining a CSA, I highly recommend Farm Fresh To You. I have been using their services for over two years and the quality is great. I recently tries Imperfect Produce and though I love the concept behind it – making use of produce that has been deemed “unworthy” for the supermarket – I found that the quality of a lot of the veggies wasn’t great. You do get more bang for your buck with Imperfect Produce, though. It’s certainly better than having no veggies at all.

If you’re interested in trying Farm Fresh To You, use my referral code for $15 off your first order: SABR9411.